


Timelines

by Lirillith



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/F, Gen, Religious Themes & References, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-08-26
Updated: 2011-10-23
Packaged: 2017-10-23 01:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/244974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lirillith/pseuds/Lirillith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wishes

     Kyubey said there were many other Puella Magi, but she was the only one in this part of the city.  She liked that.  Mitakihara needed her. 

    But sometimes, the apartment was empty and quiet and the places her parents weren't seemed to glare like a bare light bulb.  She was the only person fighting witches here.  Whenever she heard about a sudden death, she wondered if it was a witch, if she could have saved someone, if she’d been in the right place. She wished she had someone to talk to. 

    She wished she’d been able to choose her wish.


	2. Faith

    She was armed with the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith, against witches, curses, and darkness.  She was fighting evil physically, as her father fought it spiritually.

    When everything went horribly wrong, that belief kept her going.  But to survive she needed to steal, and trick people, and sneak into places she wasn't supposed to be.  She needed to save all her efforts for getting grief seeds to keep herself going - she couldn't waste effort on familiars. 

    Stories where love and courage save the day, and holy wars against black magic, all seemed hopelessly false then. 


	3. At the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting crossover with Chrono Trigger.

    Homura's been at the end of time before, but it's different now.  It looks like a cobblestoned, old-fashioned courtyard.  It's quiet here, and dark, beyond the pool of light that spreads around the lamppost.  The fences - railings? - are ornate, a sort of bronze color.  She notices, without noticing, because Madoka's standing at the edge of the light, in that frilly outfit she'd doodled in a notebook so long ago.  "Homura-chan!" she calls, a hand raised in greeting.  She sounds like a girl again, not a goddess, though her voice is always how hope sounds, and Homura is running.  


	4. Under the Sky So Blue

Madoka loved the walk to school: the trees, the water, the sun and sky.

But eventually, she stopped paying attention to what she saw every day. She didn't consciously notice it again until the day after Mami died. It seemed unfair that the sky could still be so beautiful.

It was clear and bright overhead as Homura told her to give up on Sayaka. She couldn't save Sayaka, but she can't believe there's no hope.

There's a storm coming now, but she knows that beautiful blue is just hidden by the clouds. Surely there's a way to make things right.


	5. Magic

    "It feels _great_."

    "But... I meant in more detail than that."

    "That's hard to describe.  I mean, I feel a lot stronger, and faster... Hmm."  Sayaka slowed, obviously thinking about it, and Madoka trailed to a stop behind her.  "Making my sword materialize is like.... it's sort of like having a handful of sand in your fist, only instead of draining out of your hand, it gets solid.  And I can jump, and strike, and throw things, so much better than I ever could before becoming a magical girl."  She turned toward Madoka, grinning.  "Like I said, it feels great!"

  


* * *

 

  
    "I feel sick." 

    "Do you think you have a fever?"

    "I don't feel hot.  Just... my feet won't do what I want.  Kind of dizzy, too.  I was fine before, when I was fighting the witch." 

    "That wasn't fine, Sayaka-chan." 

    "I felt unstoppable.  I always do.  I think that's what magic is."

    "But you're so tired afterwards."

    "Don't you think that might be normal?  If you only have so much power, and you use it all..."

    "Do you have to use it all?"

    "Yeah.  I'm not good enough yet to fight effortlessly like Mami-san did.  Maybe I never will be."

 


	6. Delicious

    _Yellow_ , she thinks, _cheese, the Pyotrs finally did it._   She pounces, takes a bite, and immediately she's disappointed.  It's not cheese.  But it's not sweet, either.  Whatever she's caught, it's delicious.  As she feasts, she sees a flash of... something, a memory or a possibility from another life.

 _This is delicious!  Thank you for making this for me._

 _It was my pleasure.  I love to bake._

 _You made cookies, too!_

 _Is there anything else you'd like? The tea is almost ready._

 _...well, you know..._

 _Don't worry, of course I have cheese._

    She shakes it off.  There's another one approaching now.


End file.
